In today's printing environment, to make a printer's functionality available to a number of different people, the printer is often incorporated into a computing network using various hard line network connections. For example, a printer in a business environment, such as an office, typically has a network port with a cable physically connected to it. The cable typically runs to or accesses a network server. Each person who desires to print on such a printer from their desktop computer typically accesses the printer via a network cable that runs from their computer to a network connection that accesses the network server.
In the restaurant industry, ticket printers are often used with point of sale (POS) systems to communicate food orders from the service staff to the kitchen staff. When a food order is inputted into the POS by the server, the order details are communicated to the ticket printer via a wireless or wireline network connection and printed by the printer.
In the restaurant industry, many restaurants receive orders from customers outside the restaurant for pick-up or delivery. These orders are received by a variety of means, including on-line orders via the restaurant's website; phone orders made by the customer directly to the restaurant; or third-party services that receive orders from the customer and relay the orders to the restaurant. In regards to third-party services, the method of communicating customer orders requires personnel from the restaurant to receive the orders via phone or e-mail. Outside orders must be manually inputted into the restaurant's POS system, unless the restaurant has a fully integrated POS system, which is cost prohibitive for most small restaurants.
What is needed, therefore, is an apparatus and system that enables a restaurant to receive a food order from a customer via email or text message, and directly print the order in the restaurant without the need for manual input into a POS system.